If you want to become a licensed practical nurse (LPN), you'll have to enroll in an accredited training program—and those aren't free.
However, you can learn a lot of nursing basics, as well as anatomy and medical terminology, online for free.
These free courses will give you a good background in medicine and make your LPN training program much easier to understand.
Best Free Online LPN Classes and Materials
Read on for details on medical terminology and nursing classes that you can take online for free.
1. Columbia University
Columbia University offers dozens of courses through its ColumbiaX program on the edX platform.
Courses that might be interesting to aspiring LPNs include:
- Pediatric HIV Nursing
- Fighting HIV with Antiretroviral Therapy
- Menstruation in a Global Context
- Protecting Children in Humanitarian Settings
The courses are asynchronous, so you can start at any time and proceed at your own pace.
All of these courses are free to audit, although you'll need to pay a fee if you want a certificate of completion.
2. Des Moines University
Des Moines University offers a medical terminology course that you can take online for free.
The course consists of 15 modules that you can access at any time and go through at your own pace.
The free course doesn't include a certificate of completion as there's no way to track your progress or confirm when you're done.
However, for $99 you can get a certificate of completion along with two credit hours that can be applied toward a degree program.
3. Harvard University
Harvard University has a number of nursing-related courses available online for free through its Professional and Lifelong Learning platform.
Some of the best offerings for future LPNs include:
- The Opioid Crisis in America
- Innovating in Health Care
- Quantitative Methods for Biology
- Early Childhood Development: Global Strategies for Interventions
- United States Health Policy
- Human Anatomy: Musculoskeletal Cases
- Strengthening Community Health Worker Programs
All of these courses are free to take and are self-paced, so you can start at any time and take as long as you want.
Some courses include lecture notes and other course materials provided by the original instructor of the course that are free to download.
4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has more than 30 health-related courses available on its OpenCourseWare platform.
All of these courses are free and many include free downloads of lecture notes and other course materials.
Some courses of interest to a starting LPN include:
- Principles of Pharmacology
- Information Technology in the Health Care System of the Future
- Molecular Biology for the Auditory System
- Principle and Practice of Human Pathology
- Gastroenterology
- Health Information Systems to Improve Quality of Care in Resource-Poor Settings
While you won't get a certificate of completion from any of these courses, you will acquire fundamental medical knowledge.
5. The Open University
The Open University has hundreds of free courses available, including some that might interest an aspiring LPN.
Health classes you might find relevant to your studies include:
- Accessibility and Inclusion in Digital Health
- Caring for Adults
- Exercise and Mental Health
- Exploring Family Health
- Infection and Immunity
- Introducing Public Health
- Young People's Wellbeing
All of the Open University's free courses include quizzes and other assessment methods you can use to test your knowledge.
Many of these courses also offer badges of completion, which you can share on your LinkedIn profile if you have one.
6. Rice University
From top-ranked Rice University, take a medical terminology course online for free to better understand medical language.
The free course is the first of a three-course medical terminology specialization.
The course lasts one month with a workload of two to three hours per week of asynchronous coursework.
You can audit the course for free or pay $49 per month to earn a certificate of completion.
7. University of Massachusetts, Boston
The University of Massachusetts in Boston offers dozens of free online courses through its Open CourseWare platform.
Many of these courses would be of interest to an aspiring LPN, including courses in the following disciplines:
- biology
- chemistry
- nursing and health sciences
- psychology
All of these courses are recordings of courses previously taught on campus in Boston and include lecture notes and other course materials.
While you can't get a certificate of completion for these courses, you can access some of the assignments and tests.
FAQs About Free Online LPN Classes
Keep reading for answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about becoming an LPN.
Is There Such a Thing as Free LPN Training?
It depends. Some states offer free or nearly free LPN training as part of the state-sponsored workforce development program.
There are typically income restrictions to qualify for these programs. Grants and scholarships can also reduce the cost of LPN training.
How Long Does It Take to Become an LPN?
Generally, you can complete the education necessary to become an LPN in about a year of full-time study.
This makes the LPN credential attractive if you want to work in healthcare but aren't ready to earn an associate degree in nursing or a bachelor's degree in nursing.
Are Free Online Courses Really Free?
Yes, most free online courses really are free. You can go through the whole course without spending a dime.
If you want graded tests and quizzes and a certificate of completion; however, you'll usually have to pay a fee.
It's also worth noting that free classes don't typically earn you credit that you can apply toward a degree.
Find the Right School for LPN Education Today
If you're interested in becoming an LPn, be sure to check out the free online LPN courses to prepare yourself for a career in healthcare.
